The present invention relates to food tray tables, and more particularly to stowable tray tables which pivot to facilitate cleaning of the tray tables.
Airplanes are equipped with tray tables for use by passengers during flight. Tray tables are typically stowed in the seatback of most passenger seats in a non-operative position, and are lowered into an operative position during flight. As a result of the stowage of the tray tables in the rear of the seatbacks, a passenger generally utilizes the tray table stowed in the seatback that is immediately forward of the passenger. The tray table is customarily connected to a set of arms which pivot downwardly from the seatback to an operative position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,231 issued to Elazari et al. describes a reclinable seat and foldable-table assembly whereby both the seat and tray table rotate about a horizontal axis as a unit to enable the seat to recline. The tray table of U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,231 can further rotate from a stowed position in the seatback to an extended position for passenger use.
Tray tables are used for a variety of applications, but predominately are used by passengers to rest food or drinks when dining, as well as for supporting laptop computers or other articles. Consequently, passenger use can cause the tray tables to become dirty. Airlines routinely clean the tray tables during turnaround of the aircraft before reuse by other passengers. In order to clean conventional tray tables, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,231, the airlines must lower each tray table from its stowed position, clean the tray surface, and then raise the tray back to its initial position. This laborious process is required since the surface of the tray table that is soiled during use faces the seatback once the tray table has been stowed. Since each aircraft includes tens or hundreds of tray tables, the time necessary to clean the tray tables on one aircraft is considerable, thereby causing the airlines to incur significant labor costs and perhaps limiting turnaround time. Moreover, at least some of this time is expended unnecessarily since some tray tables may be clean and not require cleaning because in order to determine whether or not a tray table is clean, the tray table must be lowered and inspected.
It would therefore be advantageous to have tray tables that can be more easily inspected and more readily cleaned. By having tray tables that can be more efficiently cleaned, the total cabin cleaning time can be decreased, thereby directly decreasing turnaround time, reducing the indirect operating costs for the airlines, and decreasing the manpower required to clean the cabin.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks associated with conventional tray tables by providing a tray table assembly that is more efficiently cleaned. The tray table assembly includes a tray table and an arm connected to the tray table in such a manner that the tray table is pivotable with respect to the support arm so that the same surface of the tray that faces upwardly during use and that therefore may become soiled also faces outwardly when the tray table is stowed in the non-operative position. Thus, aircraft personnel can quickly assess whether a tray table needs to be cleaned and, if so, can clean the tray table without having to lower the tray table prior to cleaning and then stow the tray table after cleaning. Accordingly, the tray table assembly of the present invention may substantially increase the efficiency with which tray tables are cleaned.
The tray table assembly comprises an arm adapted to move between a stowed position and an extended position, and a tray pivotally connected to the arm. The tray has opposed major surfaces and is adapted to pivot while the arm is in the extended position such that the entire tray is adapted to pivot between a first position in which one major surface faces upwardly and a second position in which the other major surface faces upwardly.
The tray table assembly preferably comprises a lip proximate to a major surface that is capable of engaging opposite sides of the arm in the first and second positions. The tray table assembly also preferably comprises a pin, typically carried by the distal end of the arm, that connects the arm to the tray, thereby providing an axis about which to pivot. In this regard, the pin typically engages side surfaces of the tray which extend between the major surfaces of the tray. The tray has also first and second edges with the first edge preferably extending beyond the arm while the tray is in the first position. To avoid inadvertent tipping of the tray, the pin preferably engages the tray closer to the first edge than the second edge.
The tray table assembly may comprise more than one arm whereby the arms are spaced apart and adapted to move between a stowed position and an extended position. The tray is pivotally attached to the arms and adapted to pivot through an angle greater than 90xc2x0, and preferably up to about 180xc2x0, about an axis extending between the arms and between first and second positions while the arms are in the extended position. When the tray table assembly includes more than one arm, a plurality of pins can be used to connect a respective arm to the tray.
A seat assembly is also provided that preferably comprises a tray table assembly and a seat having a seatback defining a recess for permitting the tray table assembly to be stowed in a non-operative position. A major surface of the tray faces outwardly while the tray table assembly is stowed in the recess defined by the seatback, and the tray is adapted to pivot once the arm is extended such that the same major surface then faces upwardly. Furthermore, the recess defined by the setback is shaped and positioned in such a way that major surface of the tray table can only be positioned outwardly when stowed in the seatback recess, thus preventing the major surface from facing the seat in the stowed position.
Consequently, the invention provides a tray table assembly capable of moving between a stowed position and an extended position with the major surface of the tray that faces upwardly during use, facing outwardly when in the stowed position. Since the major surface of the tray is facing outwardly when not in use, the tray table assembly does not first need to be lowered before cleaning the tray table. Instead, the tray may be cleaned while remaining in the stowed position. By facing outwardly while in the stowed position, the tray table assembly may be readily inspected without lowering the tray. As a result, the tray table assembly decreases the total time required to both inspect the tray tables and to clean the soiled tray tables. This in turn will increase the airline""s efficiency during turnaround and decrease costs required to clean the aircraft.